When Wonders Strike Back
by Reborn Dark Phoenix
Summary: The God of War has ravaged the Amazon nation for millennium, going so far as to rape their queen. In sorrow and desperation, she cries to Olympus for deliverance. Their response? "A child molded of clay, given the breath of life, raised as the mightiest of Amazons, and destined as a champion of Earth." Wonder Woman origin story. *AU*
1. Prologue: Just One Child

_**Welcome readers and writers of FanFiction! Today begins a new story, a new saga. This is a retelling of the origins and story of Diana of Themyscera, the superheroine known as Wonder Woman. We shall see just how Diana becomes the amazing hero we know today.**_

_**Now, a few things to clear up: this story is an AU! Forget all canon and mainstream things about Diana. Yes I will be taking inspiration from the comics and from the Wonder Woman animated movie, but there will be things here that I will create and add in, in the prologue. So please, no flames on how I'm messing up Diana's origin and story, because it will get annoying and I will get tired of having to explain why things are how they are here. Just thought I should put it out there.**_

_**Ok, so now that that's clear, sit back in that chair and enjoy the story :D**_

_**Disclaimer: Wonder Woman and all associated characters belong to DC Comics**_

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Prologue: Just One Child

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***Millennia ago***

She only wanted one.

Just one child and she'd never ask the gods for anything for herself ever again.

Sitting there in the garden, her chiton covered with the filth of wet clay and her hands grimy and sticky, she smiled again to herself as she looked upon her creation. The nose and the eyes were what had given her the most difficulty in these last two days. They were the last features to be completed, and she was determined to finish this today.

She had been at it all week, and she wanted it to be perfect.

Taking her small chisel, she again began laboring at forming the nose and the eyes. It was delicate work, as the clay sculpture was less than half her height; therefore, all the facial features were smaller in comparison to her own. Nonetheless, her diligence and determination helped her focus on making perfection come to life in this one sculpture.

For it'd be the closest thing to a child that she'd ever have.

There had not been a child on Themyscera in hundreds of thousands of years, and only recently had she seen small children again when she led her armies to rescue their sister from the Myrmidons, journeying to a distant land. They were the first that the Amazons had seen in quite a long time. She had forgotten the purity and innocence a child held; she had forgotten the sweet laughter they held; she had forgotten their ability to trust so easily, because they knew that they'd always be cared for…

It had made her long to once again hold a child of her own, to be a mother; so she had petitioned the gods. Countless were the number of prayers she offered them for a child, every evening that somehow, she could gain a little girl-for no boy would be accepted in Themyscera-to love as her own, to hold and provide for.

To be her little sun and stars.

The captain of her royal guard came into the garden, just as the queen finished the final touches on the nose. At last, she thought to herself, it is finished.

"My Queen, it…it is beautiful," whispered the captain, clearly amazed at how lifelike the small sculpture looked.

"Yes, Philippus," the queen replied, unable to stop smiling. Standing up, she took in the magnificence of her creation. The flowing hair had been captured perfectly, the clay almost looking as if it would actually blow through the winds; and the clay that had molded to appear like a dress over the clay body seemed like it could billow in the same winds at any second. What was most captivating about the sculpture was its face; the face of a loving, happy and carefree little girl looked at them. The eyes were so lifelike it appeared to stare right into the, seeing their very souls. The mouth was formed into a warm, innocent smile that couldn't be resisted without a returning smile. "She truly is beautiful."

"My Queen," Philippus spoke. "I know of your petitions to the gods for a daughter to call your own, and how…up to now, they have denied your humble prayers. Is that why you have spent the week making this?"

"I cannot lie, dear Philippus," the queen replied with a sad smile. "I will always be hopeful that I may someday be blessed with a child. After so long, however, I doubt that the gods will ever see fit to grant me such a desire. But…I believe Morpheus has taken pity on me, for a few weeks ago, I began to dream of a being a mother to a beautiful little girl, and I have had such pleasant slumber as I have this dream. The child looked just like this sculpture," she added as she placed her hand tenderly upon the head. "I just had to bring her to life. I couldn't stand to just see her in dreams."

"I am glad you did, your majesty," the guard replied warmly. "It-she…she is truly a work of art fit for the liking of Apollo himself." As the two women took in the creation once more, Philippus asked, "Have you given her a name?"

"Indeed," the queen said with a smile and sigh. "Diana."

"A beautiful name."

"Yes…yes it is."

If she could just have one child, Hippolyta would never be happier.

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_**Like I said, new stuff added here and there.**_

_**So, how did you like this new origin and the prologue? Share your thought! Please review, give feedback and all that good stuff! I love hearing from you guys and it helps me get motivated to finish the story :D**_

_**First chapter coming soon, so until next time dear readers. And thank you for reading!**_


	2. Brutality of War

_**Just a reminder-this story is AU. Now, we continue on with the saga of how our favorite Amazon came to be who she is today :D But first a bit of backstory for the next few chapters. Enjoy :D**_

_**I don't own them**_

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Chapter 1: Brutality of War

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***Themyscera, a few decades later***

Death…it was all around her. And it wore the skin of her sisters.

Having gotten of her horse, Hippolyta walked through the battlefield, her sword sheathed and her shield in her arms. Her battle sandals became more covered in dirt and the blood of Amazon, man and beast alike as she trudged forward with every step. Her face was covered with a combat helmet, one she had taken from Sparta a few hundred years ago as a souvenir from a successful campaign to rescue another young foolish Amazon. Its crest on the top billowed in the winds as the Amazon Queen finally approached the hilltop she had been walking towards. With a sigh, she gazed out to the valley.

What was once a prime and pristine field of flowers and small vegetation growing lushly with the aid of a beautiful clear river, a mass bloody flat grave littered with the bodies of Amazons and soldiers of Ares now stood. Even from her point of elevation, the Queen could see the blood on the ground, seeping into the dirt and bathing the stones and rocks of the fields. Weapons of all sorts littered the ground, stained with the blood of fallen warriors. Themyscera had been ravaged and devastated by the brutality once again. And once again, the Amazons had triumphed once more against the god that swore to end their existence.

Ares, the God of War. The name was poison to Hippolyta's tongue. Her enemy, since he vowed to Aphrodite that he would forever seek a method to destroy the Amazons. The Goddess of Love and Beauty had promised that her Amazons would one day save the world from the hatred and warfare that so fueled Ares. This, the god could not allow, and for countless millennia, ever since the gods of Olympus separated this island for the Amazon nation to live in, Ares had brought war and destruction to Themyscera on numerous occasions. But the Amazons were blessed-their patron goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena and Demeter had never forsaken them. They had blessed the women with skills, many skills. Granted the gifts of strength, endurance, war, wisdom, love, compassion, beauty inside and out, the hunt and of harvest, they would always prevail against whatever Ares threw their way and would always return from whatever destruction had been left behind. Within a year after an attack or an invasion, Themyscera would be thriving. It was a never ending cycle.

One that Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons that were being slaughtered during each encounter, was growing quite tired of.

Ares was a constant threat to Themyscera, and yet Olympus did nothing about what he would do. Zeus, King of the Olympians and of Olympus itself, would not discipline his son, no matter how many times the Queen could pray or question or scream in anger in the temples of the gods. It disgusted her. Her people had started off numbering more than 150,000, and now, after numerous wars and the like, were now numbering only a small amount of around 12,000. Had her people not suffered enough? How many more had to die before Zeus and Olympus finally intervened and put an end to Ares' actions and destruction?

On the fields amongst the bodies of the dead, Amazon warriors stood tall and proud, but weary of battle. Their cries of victory had long ago died down after they had dispersed their enemies-the men and the beasts and creatures that the Greek God of War had unleashed upon them this time. They held their weapons-swords, spears, shields, bows and arrows. They had overcome yet again, but at the price of lives of their fellow sisters. They were immortal, yes, but not against the weapons of a god or weapons empowered and blessed by a god.

"My Queen," a voice came.

Hippolyta turned to see her Philippus, her general, closest friend, and captain of her Royal Guard, and Artemis, Philippus' second in command, approach her. Both were still in their armor, their swords sheathed but Artemis with a spear in her hand. Both women were the two greatest warriors Themyscera had to offer, second only to Hippolyta herself. They were also the most trusted of Hippolyta's council, and her two closest friends. "Yes?" she answered.

"Are we to carry out the…usual orders?" Philippus said with a sigh, and the Amazon Queen knew just why she said it in such manner. She, like the Queen, was tired of this never ending cycle of war, death, destruction and rebuilding, only to be repeated all over again with the span of a few decades. She too didn't understand why Olympus had never intervened. She was more vocal on the matter of the two; Artemis felt the same way that her superior and her queen felt, but she was more reserved about it. She didn't like that it was like this, but she didn't think that Olympus was going to start intervening after countless millennia of ignoring the cries of their Queen.

"What else is there to do, Philippus?" Hippolyta sighed as she removed her helmet, allowing her beautiful and lush blonde hair to blow in the wind. "It is as we have always done for the last…millennia or so. We thrive, we are invaded, we fight back and succeed, and we rebuild to thrive again. And then the cycle repeats itself. It may not be for a year or for a decade or another millennium, but Ares will return and will again make to slaughter us, waging war upon Themyscera until there is nothing left for him to destroy."

"But why?" Philippus angrily replied. "Why does Olympus sit by idly while we suffer here at the hands of the War God and his men?! Men-HA! Such filthy and pathetic creatures! When they don't try to kill you, they try to bed you-right on the battlefield."

"I do not know why Olympus does not answer our prayers," the Queen replied. "Even Hera herself, in all her regality and grace, when she graces Themyscera with her presence, does not answer my questions of why Ares is allowed to continue his destruction of our home."

"Aphrodite claims we shall save this world from Ares' work," the general snapped. "How are we to do so if we are slowly dying in a never ending war? Has Aphrodite abandoned us?!"

"Do not speak of our goddess in such a manner," Artemis said, clutching her spear tightly. "They are our gods, and we are their servants. We have given them much in our devotion, service and faithfulness to them. Lady Aphrodite says we shall one day tame the world of man with compassion and love. I, therefore, believe we will indeed one day do as such."

"Those are true words, Artemis," Hippolyta agreed. "We cannot turn on our gods."

"Even if they seemingly turned their backs on us," Artemis muttered, surprising the Queen and general. With a stiff huff, Artemis dropped the spear and walked away, ripping her helmet off her head and casting it aside as she went off to Hera knew where.

"Give her time, my Queen," Philippus sighed. "Artemis has held her tongue on the gods' silence for quite a long time. She just needs to vent."

"I assumed the venting was done on the battlefield," Hippolyta mused. "That is how I vent about the situation."

"As do I," the general remarked as Hippolyta walked down the hill towards the fields, Philippus at her heels. The two Amazons approached the masses of other Amazon warriors, who noticed their queen and their general approaching. They faced them both, waiting to see what Hippolyta would say. Of course, after countless millennia of the same process and cycle being repeated over and over and over again, the Amazons pretty much knew that they knew what Hippolyta would be saying to them-words of comfort, bury the dead, give thanks to the gods that had abandoned them in their time of need, and rebuild again, all to wait for the next time that Ares would unleash hell upon Themyscera.

"Sisters…" Hippolyta began, but then she suddenly stopped. Philippus looked at her with concern; it wasn't like Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and the chosen Champion of Olympus to lose her tongue and not find any words to say. The other Amazons knew this, too. Their queen was strong, unmovable, and fiery in words. She was always at the forefront of battle and ready to deliver words of war to her people. She had bested Ares in battle the last two times he had dared to set foot on Themyscera. Hippolyta knew this too; why did she suddenly find she had no words? Because of the never ending cycle? Because she was tired of this dance and wanted something else? Because she simply wanted her people to live in the peace that they were promised when they were created, away from the chaos of Man's World? "I…I have no words anymore. We've endured war for millennia now, against the armies and might of Ares. We have remained strong and have withstood the tests of time and conflict to protect our home, our lives and our peace…our purpose. Many an Amazon gave their lives to ensure that this shall one day be made reality. Until then, we can only stand against Ares…time and time…again…" Hippolyta trailed off as she looked down at the bodies beneath her feet. Her sisters' bodies, sister who now would not see that goal of peace, who now would not see Aphrodite's promise of the Amazons saving the world and mankind from itself come to fruition…slain by their enemy, over constant war.

It wasn't right.

"It's not fair…"

"My Queen?" Hippolyta came back to her senses as she heard Philippus' voice, and then noticed the Amazons before her-her sisters and her fellow warriors. They were staring at her uncertainly and with concern. Philippus had a look of worry on her face.

"This…this shouldn't be like this," Hippolyta said, louder for the Amazons to hear. "We are faithful…we are devoted to Olympus…This isn't fair. This is not right." And with that, she cast her helmet aside, Philippus catching it in her unexpecting arms and began walking away back up the hill. She didn't care about the expressions her general or her fellow sisters were giving her. She was tired of this all, tired of the constant battles, the constant war, the constant death that plagued her people. She had had enough of the gods' ignorance. As their champion, she was going to seek their council. Now.

"Amazons," Philippus said as she watched her queen walk away. "We begin with rebuilding…as normal."

As the Amazons began to regather after their battle and begin rebuilding anew, Hippolyta made her way up to the hill and returned to her loyal and valiant steed. Mounting it, she began her trek back to the temples of the gods, one of the few places on Themyscera that the invaders had not dared to attack or were unable to reach. As she galloped towards the temples, she saw the destruction that remained behind in the massive invasion by Ares' forces. Buildings and statues were destroyed, the blacksmith shop was in ruins, and forests and fields were devastated. Her palace, surprisingly, had not been hit in the invasion. For that she was thankful-not because she loved her palace and would not sleep anywhere else; she was perfectly fine with sleeping anywhere. No, it was because that same palace that held the garden where the sculpture of the child was held, and that sculpture was Hippolyta's greatest and most prized possession. She indeed truly valued the life and protection of Themyscera and her people, but that sculpture was special to her, and she hoped that no harm would ever come to it.

Her horse finally arrived at the temples of the gods. Dismounting, Hippolyta walked forward and took in the sights of the temples and statues here. Despite the Amazons' having goddesses as their patrons and their hatred of men, they still worshiped the gods of Olympus also, especially Zeus. As there were temples of Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Hestia and Athena, there were temples for Zeus, Morpheus, Apollo, Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus and Hephaestus. Hippolyta stood there, looking at each temple, wondering who she should come to with her petitions…again. She had come to Aphrodite, to Artemis, to even Hera. She had asked Poseidon to enrage the seas to protect their island home, she had asked Hermes to curse the transportation of their vessels…all had given no result. She set her eyes to one rather large and glorious temple. In front of it stood a tall statue of a bearded muscular man with a lightning bolt.

She knew who she would come to today.

Entering the temple, she took off her battle cape, removed her sheathed sword from her belt and placed them by a pillar on the floor. Hippolyta walked up to the gigantic marble statue of the god with s staff sitting on a gigantic throne. The statue showed him wearing two gauntlets on his wrists, a belt on his waistline that held up the lower part of his chiton and the upper half draped around part of his muscular chest. A wave of hair from his beard and head looked like it was billowing in an invisible wind, and in one had was a lightning bolt.

A statue fit to depict Zeus, God of the Skies and King of Olympus, himself.

Hippolyta approached the large statue and came to one knee and bowed, as was mandated when coming to the gods. She remained bowed down as she began speaking, "My people have again successfully pushed back the assault that Ares sent against us. The battle was fierce-a number of my sisters died valiantly to protect our home and our lives. Each felled many of our enemies before their own deaths. Again, we prepare to rebuild and restore our home; again we hold our own and remain in victory."

Something inside Hippolyta, after saying those words…snapped.

She raised her head to look at the statue's head. "But of course…you already know that. I've told you the same story for millennia now, Zeus. We fight, we win as we lose and we rebuild, only that we fight again and the process repeats itself. I've told you, and I know you know about it, for you can see everything from your throne on Mt. Olympus. You sit there, and you see our struggles…and you see our pain, and you see me cry out to your brethren and your children."

At this, Hippolyta slowly stood up and her face turned into an expression of anger and fury.

"And yet there you remain, unwilling to intervene, unwilling to come to the aid of your so-called Champion and her people, who are plagued by your SON! You do nothing to intervene and cease the destruction that Ares continues to sow amongst my people! WHY?! Why do you refuse to stop these transgressions against my people?! Why do you not allow this to stop?! Aphrodite had promised us that my people would bring peace to Man's World! How can that be if my people are subjected to war and destruction for millennia?! The Amazons once numbered more than 100,000, and now we are nowhere near such numbers, and with each attack by Ares and his minions our numbers dwindle!"

Hippolyta had been screaming her lungs out, hoping for some kind of response, some kind of reaction from the Olympian to whom she was screaming and calling and yelling. But nothing came of it. It didn't keep her from stopping, though.

"Is this what I must endure as the Champion of the Gods of Olympus?! You, Zeus! You personally chose me to be the Champion that would lead the Amazons in the forefront to a new path of peace and compassion in the future of Man's World! How can I ever hope to one day succeed when all I see before me is exactly what I am supposed to be preparing to fight against?! Ares is succeeding in his desire to wipe the Amazons from this world! Where is the protection we were promised?! Where is this destiny that our people have waiting for them?! Where is our deliverance from this threat?! Where is the reward for our continuous service and devotion to you?! Where are you that you do not come and answer me, Zeus?! WHERE IS MY ANSWER!?"

Hippolyta gasped as she finished her yelling, panting as she glared at the statue. Its lifeless form stared blankly out to the skies outside of the temple. She wanted to know why her people suffered. She just wanted answers, and she wanted salvation for her people. Was that too much to ask?

"Where?" she whispered to herself, her anger calming slowly as she sat herself on the steps that led up to the base of the Zeus statue. There she remained, her head in her hands, for a while, tired of it all; she was tired of this endless cycle that she and her people should never have had to go through. "Where?" she whispered again as a single tear silently fell from her eye.

"Hippolyta of Themyscera, Champion of Olympus…arise."

Hippolyta knew this voice, and she was surprised its owner was coming to her, here of all places, and she quite frankly didn't even want to deal with anyone unless they were bringing her answers. Nevertheless, she was obligated to respond accordingly. And so Queen Hippolyta, Champion of Olympus, stood up and met the goddess before her with an eye to eye stare.

Hera, Queen of the Olympian Pantheon.

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_**So, what do you guys think? Please leave reviews and feedback, I love hearing from you guys, and it helps motivate me to write more and finish :D**_

_**And if there are any questions, feel free to ask.**_

_**Next chapter coming soon. Until next time readers.**_


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